April 2016 Mission Matters – Latest News from Blackburn Diocese

Welcome to this April 2016 Mission Matters Update. This issue includes:

Dates for your Diary

April – “Go” – Equipping the local church for growth on Saturday 16th April in Leyland.

May – Archbishops’ week of prayer 8th – 15th May

June – Crossroads Resourcing Evenings to help you prepare for the Crossroads Mission.

A reminder of the key Crossroads planning actions in the next couple of months

Details about how to order copies of “The Servant Queen and the King she serves”

Information for people thinking about linking our nation’s love of sport with outreach

If you would like any further information or support please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, using our email addresses or our telephone numbers at the end of this newsletter.
To book to attend the April or June training events, either click on the revenant links, or click here to visit our events page on the Diocesan website, which also includes booking information. We look forward to seeing you.This email is being sent to Clergy, Readers, Churchwardens, PCC Secretaries, Vision Champions and others from our Diocesan Database, those who attended recent training events and those who have subscribed to our mailing list, but please forward to anyone else you think might be interested.If you received this email from someone else, please click here to join our mailing list and receive future copies of Mission Matters yourself.

GO – April 16, 2016

Not long to ‘Go’ now until this fantastic free resourcing and equipping event at Runshaw College, Leyland, PR25 3DQ.
GO has been organised for all church members to consider how we can play our part in outreach and church growth. Throughout the day there are 18 workshops and more than 30 exhibition stands, to help us think about Vision 2026 and the Crossroads Mission 8-11th September 2016.You don’t have to book, but it would be helpful for our planning if you could do so. Find out more about GO and how to book by visiting this page of the Diocesan website or emailmiranda.wraithmell@blackburn.anglican.org. Once you have booked, we will send you a link to select any workshops you would like to attend.

The event has been organised by the Diocese of Blackburn, The Methodist Church Lancashire District, and the United Reformed Church North Western Synod. It is close to the motorway at Runshaw College in Leyland PR25 3DQ and has ample parking.

How are you getting on with planning your Crossroads events? Just to remind you that parishes should be preparing their draft programmes and forwarding them to their deanery coordinators so the deanery plan can come together. There is an Event Planning Template available from this page here, that will help you to think through each event and provide the necessary information to your deanery co-ordinator. Many deaneries have already arranged for their “Visiting Bishop” to come and to Lancashire during April/May so that the plans can be discussed.

Elsewhere in this bulletin you can find details of the Wave of Prayer from 8th May to 15th May. Why not use this to organise a prayer event in your deanery as preparation for Crossroads? You will also find details here of the training events planned for June. Other information, including copies of the Mission Preparation Guide, can be found on the Diocesan Website here.

Prayer
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are inviting churches to pray for the evangelisation of the nation during the week before the Day of Pentecost 2016.
The Archbishops have written to every serving parish priest in the Church of England expressing their longing “to see a great wave of prayer across our land, throughout the Church of England and many other Churches” from 8th- 15th May. Further information is available from the Archbishop of Canterbury‘s web page.The Liturgical Commission has produced a booklet of resources from Common Worship for use in services during this special week. You can download it, and many other ideas for worship and prayer, at the Thy Kingdom Come website.
Why not use this as a time to pray for Crossroads events in your parish, deanery and throughout our diocese?

Following on from the Crossroads/Vision 2026 evenings in January and February, and GO in April, during June, we are organising some Crossroads Resourcing evenings to help churches prepare for the Crossroads Mission 8-11 September 2016. These will take place across the diocese to enable as many people as possible to attend.

Refreshments will be available from 7:00pm and the event will start at 7.30pm. Each evening will include two sections. They will start with a central session, thinking about how to run a good outreach event, and how to ensure people are invited to come along. For the second half of the evening there is a choice of two sessions – one about Faith Sharing, and one about running enquirers courses. Please come as a group so that, between you, you can gain information from both sessions. We expect to be finished by 9.15pm

This book uses the Queen’s own words to draw out the central role of her Christian faith, the Bible and her trust in Jesus Christ. Published by Bible Society, HOPE and LICC, the book is designed to be a gift from you and your church to people in your workplace, network and community so that you can start conversations with the people around you. Sold in packs of 10, it is designed to be a conversation starter and a gift from you and your church to people in your workplace, network and community.

The country and Commonwealth is celebrating HM The Queen’s 90th birthday. From her actual birthday on 21 April through to the official birthday celebrations from 10-12 June 2016, people will be organising and participating in a wide range of events and activities. It’s an amazing opportunity for churches to bring communities together to say thank you: to God for a faithful life well lived, and to The Queen for her unstinting service.

Some ideas of how to use the book can be found on the Bible Society Website here, HOPE’s website here or LICC website here.
To order books (copies cost £1 each plus a handling/postage charge) follow the links from the websites above or use this link CPO

June sporting events
As mentioned at the Crossroads/Vison evenings in January/February, June is a busy time for sports enthusiasts and a great opportunity to connect with your local community, perhaps by watching sport together on a big screen, or holding a sports themed family fun day?Sports Ministry
An informal group is getting together in the diocese, made up of people who are exploring expressing faith through sports ministry. This includes those who regularly play sport, ministry through sports chaplaincy or using sport as an outreach tool. If this is an area that interests you, please get in touch with David Banbury david.banbury@blackburnanglican.org for more information.

For more information about any of these events, or if you need any assistance in booking, please contact Miranda WraithmellIf you received this email from someone else, please click here to join our mailing list and receive future copies of Mission Matters direct to your own inbox.

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